Ford To Reopen Shuttered Cleveland Plant, Employ 250 To Build Ecoboost Engines
By John O'Dell February 27, 2009
Ford Motor Co. is reopening a furloughed plant in Ohio to produce its turbocharged, direct-injected Ecoboost gasoline engine.
The automaker said Friday that its Cleveland Engine Plant No. 1, which was closed in 2007, will produce the six-cylinder Ecoboost engine that is at the heart of Ford's bid to enter the green game in a big way.
The 3.5-liter engine that initially will be paired with the 2010 Lincoln MKS, Lincoln MKT, Ford Taurus SHO and Ford Flex promises to deliver up to 20 percent better fuel economy with 15 percent fewer carbon-dioxide emissions than vehicles equipped with standard fuel-injected engines of similar output.
While the engine will debut in just a handful of models, Ford Global Product Chief Derrick Kuzak said late last year that, by 2013, the company hopes to ship more than 2.5 million Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles with six- and four-cylinder Ecoboost engines.
The 58-year-old engine plant had 600 employees working on two shifts when it closed nearly two years ago. Ford plans to reopen the facility with 250 employees working a single shift.
Staffing levels could rise as Ford pushes Ecoboost into more models and determines which plant will produce the four-cylinder version of the fuel-efficient engine.
Greg Johnson, Contributor
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Another bright spot on Ford's record. Maybe in five years we'll have the Big 1 instead of the Big 3.
"Big 1" does not sound good.
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